Florida House OKs New Limit on Future Taxes

The Florida House of Representatives has approved a constitutional amendment making it harder for future lawmakers to increase taxes.

If the amendment is approved by voters in November, Representative Tom Leek of Ormond Beach says his joint resolution will require a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature to raise taxes.

"I believe that taking a citizen's hard-earned money should not be done lightly," he said. "You either stand with the people whose money the government takes, or you stand with the government that takes it."

Opponents of the amendment say Florida is already a low tax state and this will make it harder for future lawmakers to do their jobs.

They also say the amendment does nothing to close special interest loopholes in the tax law and may render any attempts to close them impossible.

But the measure is a priority of the House Speaker and the Governor, and it passed the house by a lopsided margin of 80-29.

The amendment still has to be approved by the Senate before it can appear on the November ballot, and it won't take affect unless it’s approved by 60 percent of the voters.